With improvements in imaging and computer processing power, computer generated representations of human subjects have become more common, particularly in the film and video game industries. While realistic computer generated representations/characters have become increasingly more realistic, currently available technologies still require real-time interaction or scenario-specific planning to enable the character to interact within a particular virtual environment. Accordingly, a computer generation of a real-life person is only as realistic to the extent that a programmer pre-determined the character's response to any particular stimulus.
The psychological and anatomical movement characteristics of the real-life subject must be manually and painstakingly programmed into the character's computer program. Alternatively, the real-life subject may wear special suits and, using motion capture technology (MOCAP), a computer can capture the anatomical movements and responses to specific stimuli, but again, the interaction of the virtual character with the virtual environment is manually manufactured. If the real-life subject did not perform a specific task or reaction, then the character is not capable of performing the task or reaction either.
Moreover, existing computer generated character technology is not capable of incorporating cognitive behavior from the real-life subject into the character. Cognitive behavior, for purposes of this disclosure, means the level of learning and/or awareness a subject may have to any specific stimulus. As cognitive learning increases, a subject's reaction to the same stimulus will become more repeatable and more predictable. Alternatively, when cognitive learning is low, a subject's response to a particular stimulus is more sporadic. This concept is true for large scale reaction to stimuli, such as reacting to a baseball being pitched in a subject's direction, as well as small scale reactions such as facial expressions and anatomical movement characteristics. While technology exists to functionally image the human brain and determine when certain neural pathways are active in response to specific stimuli, available technology has been incapable of incorporating functional imaging techniques to create a more cognitively aware computer generated representation of a subject. Thus, currently available virtual personification technology is incapable of adequately incorporating a subject's cognitive capabilities with realistic anatomical features and movements.